Hot Wheels & Matchbox - Gotta catch 'em all

[Teleks]

Hi,

I took it upon myself to get all the different versions of the Mach-E from both Hot Wheels and Matchbox. Since it keeps coming up here in the forum, I thought I should just post what they look like, so that people know once and for all.

See pictures below

!

 

[Teleks]

Probably know one cares haha, but here some of my personal impressions about the model cars..

Hot Wheels seems to come with more quality flaws, like printing errors and stuff, but generally I’m more impressed with the Hot Wheels cars. I don’t know much about the two brands (haven’t had any since I was a kid!), but I assumed Matchbox goes more for realism, and Hot Wheels is more just for fun - but that’s not my impression here. I feel like the Matchbox car doesn’t care about getting the original right, while the Hot Wheels generally seems to be more true to the original (in this case to the Mach-E 1400). I haven’t scientifically compared it, but with the Matchbox ones the proportions of the cars just feel off. The one obvious flaw of the Hot Wheels however, is the lack of printed head and tail lights - I guess the angle was tricky.

What’s kind of a bummer, is that the models aren't actually the same size, so putting them next to each other doesn’t look great. Technically both are supposed to be at a 1:64 scale, but the Matchbox model is definitely about 10% larger than the Hot Wheels.

What I really like about the Hot Wheels is the attention to detail of the prints! If you look up pictures of the real-life Mach-E 1400 you’ll see they really tried to print everything you’ll find on the originals on there, even if it ended up being <100µm in size lol. That being said, the red and chrome version of the car never actually existed, and the blue one really was black in real life.

 

[Doug&Julie]

Oh man...there's a silver one?!?!? I need that one and the blue one to complete my collection.

 

[kdonnel]

I feel like the Matchbox car doesn’t care about getting the original right, while the Hot Wheels generally seems to be more true to the original (in this case to the Mach-E 1400).

If this is the episode I vaguely remember, it goes into some detail on the differences between Hot Wheels and Matchbox. If I am remembering correctly before they were both owned by Mattel there was a much larger difference between the two with Matchbox being more focused on realism and Hot Wheels on fantasy. Now that they are both owned by Mattel there is not a big difference between the two brands.

I have only managed to find the white and red Hot Wheels and the red Matchbox.

https://www.iheart.com/podcast/105-...6940277/episode/how-hot-wheels-work-29468021/

 

[65MustangBoy]

Can you buy these online, or do you have to play Hot Wheel roulette at the local Walmart?

I would love to have the orange Mach E to match mine.

 

[Teleks]

Oh man...there's a silver one?!?!? I need that one and the blue one to complete my collection.

The silver one is from this special collection that Hot Wheels does (and has been doing for a long time) called “zamac", which is an acronym for the alloy the cars are made from. Basically just means those cars are not painted, so you can just see the metal they're made from. They still have the prints on them though. I think those are exclusively sold at Walmart, but of course you can still find them on eBay (see below).

If I am remembering correctly before they were both owned by Mattel there was a much larger difference between the two with Matchbox being more focused on realism and Hot Wheels on fantasy. Now that they are both owned by Mattel there is not a big difference between the two brands.

Yeah, I was aware that they are both Mattel. But honestly, I was pretty surprised how different they are. They're definitely not using any of the same parts and are built in quite different ways. The only thing that seems very similar is the packaging. Also, like I said, the difference between the two is kind of the opposite of what I expected and also of what you're saying: Hot Wheels really tried to replicate the original as precisely as they could (given the customers price expactations of course). Probably they got a 3D model of the car from Ford and so really got the proportions right. The Matchbox models look like someone just eyeballed it lol. Or maybe they wanted to make the car even more sleek and a bit more fantasy looking. Reminds me of an early stage prototype car that actually looks too sleek.

I'll definitely listen to that Stuff You Should Know episode, thanks! Used to listen to their podcast a lot.

Can you buy these online, or do you have to play Hot Wheel roulette at the local Walmart?

You can find all of them online. eBay is probably the best place. There are a lot of dedicated Hot Wheels/Matchbox sellers that all seem like they turned a hobby into a business and are really nice!

I would love to have the orange Mach E to match mine.

The orange one is kind of a special case, because you can't buy it by itself (at least not at the store). It comes in this 5-pack. See the second picture I posted. However on eBay you'll probably be able to buy it 'loose' by itself, i.e. without the original packing.

 

[minders]

I have 2 extra of the red Hot Wheels one still in the package from the pic above if anyone is still looking for them. I never found the other Hot Wheels ones, but I was able to find a single one of the red Matchbox one.

 

[Logal727]

I found the Red Matchbox one at a Big Lots for $1 in the bargain bin a few days ago. I have the orange one too from the pack. I only have the white Hot Wheels version, itching for those other colors. I’ll keep hunting!

 

[Eric_C_Boston]

Thanks to a post on Facebook, I found the Dollar Tree store at Highland Commons in Hudson, MA had a bunch of the Matchbox red ones. I was only looking for the Red one for obvious reasons, so I did not notice if they had the other models. I did notice they had Tesla Model Y as well. Price was $1.25. So your local Dollar Tree may also have them.

 

[06VistaGT]

Went to the store this weekend with the wife and kids. Parked next to a space white (or silver?) MME GT. The GT was gone when we came out of the store.

After shopping and getting back in my car, I chuckled and started to get out. My wife asked "what's wrong?". I pointed to the red MME matchbox the other guy had put under my driver's side wiper!

Many thanks for the gift, kind stranger. This was at the Kohl's in Rocky Hill, CT this past weekend. If you happen to be on this board, kudos to you, my friend. You are basically Santa Claus to my kids now!

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